It all comes down to this. In two Championship Sunday games, Brad Evans, naturally, spices up the action firing off on various player props. Fade or follow? That’s up to YOU!
The Pick: Jarrett Stidham 20+ rush yards vs. Patriots (+165, theScore)
The prevailing feeling in Denver ahead of the AFC Championship game is a glass half full.
Bo Nix’s absence due to an ankle fracture on the second-to-last play in the Divisional Round is a derailment sure to prompt “What if?” questions, but optimists have faith Jarret Stidham can shock the world. After all, in four career starts, he completed a more than serviceable 62.5% of his attempts, averaged 270.0 pass yards per game and posted a 6:4 TD:INT split. Decent.
As witnessed previously with Doug Williams, Colin Kaepernick and Nick Foles, it’s not impossible for an elevated backup to stiff arm the playoff pressure. Stidham has a chance to earn his spot in Broncos and NFL lore. One game. One standout performance. One win.
Where the former Patriot isn’t a significant departure from Nix is his contributions on the ground. In his career as a starter, he averaged 5.8 rush attempts and 23.0 rush yards per game. His advantageous wheels could extend drives/plays on unscripted scampers. Keep in mind, in the regular season, New England dialed up the pocket heat on 20.3% of QB dropbacks giving up 16.2 rush yards per game. In total, five slingers sprinted for at least 20 yards against them. Tacking on, Justin Herbert and CJ Stroud dashed for a combined 68 rush yards in the Wildcard and Divisional Rounds versus Mike Vrabel's team.
In a contest the Broncos are likely to play from behind in during the second half, Sean Payton’s legs-spinning crutch could sporadically gash the Patriots’ man-heavy scheme.
Be springy. Be spry. And be an effective scrambler. Call your own number, Stidham.
NO CONTEXT PARLAY PLAY: SGP - Patriots ML, Broncos 24.5u team total points, Rhamondre Stevenson 50+ rush/rec yards, Evan Engram 2+ receptions (+126, DraftKings)